It's a question that every breeder gets and we all answer with our general impressions often based upon our own experience and that of the many breeders we all know.

Soon, however, we can know more. The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America, Inc. has developed a Wheaten Health Survey with the assistance of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. ANY wheaten owner ANYWHERE in the world can fill it out...takes about 5 minutes...for dogs they've owned since 2000. It's confidential...only aggregated data will be seen.

Understand...there will be limits to the assumptions that can be made. The respondents are self-selected...meaning there's no guarantee there will be a cross representation of all Wheatens...and it's not unusual for owners of dogs with problems to respond in greater numbers than owners of healthy Wheatens. And remember, the survey went online on January 23, 2018 so the numbers will change over time. But it will help with our general impressions.

Nola whelped her first litter on January 23rd. It's been awfully busy with them but they are looking good. She's even "allowing" her mom, Pinch, to help take care of them. You can visit their page here.

One thing we take some pride in is that we usually respond quickly to puppy inquiries. We try to give information and referrals and try to get back to everyone within a few days.

Ooops.

Seems like over the last few weeks, we haven't been all that prompt...and some messages get buried and missed. Sure, we've been suffering from "puppy brain" brought on by Evie's litter and we've had a LOT of inquiries...but that's not an excuse.

So our apologies to anyone who hasn't gotten a response...and if it's more than a week since you sent us an email, please resend it and we'll try to do better.

They say babies always come in the middle of the night...and it's very often true for puppies, too!

Evie, CH Banner On The Road Again, had her first litter of puppies in the early morning hours of June 25th. Sired by "Leo", GCH DIamonds Ain't Misbehavin, there were 4 females and 1 male. Thanks to his breeder and co-owner, Betty Ann Hillwig, for making it happen. And as always, thanks to Evie's co-owners, Mike, Michael and Steven, for giving our girl such great attention.

Evie was a No Drama Mama whelping the puppies and as an attentive, nursing dam. You can follow their progress on their page here.

We'd bred Nola, hoping for a nice Spring litter. As they say, timing is everything and apparently ours wasn't quite right so we didn't greet May with a bunch of puppies. So she's back in the rotation and will likely be bred in early 2017.

Luckily, Evie, CH Banner On The Road Again, hadn't come into season when we learned Nola had missed. So her great owners did a lot of scurrying around, we connected with the dog we'd always hoped would be her Mr. Wonderful….and now Evie will have her first litter this summer. Watch for news and photos in a few weeks.

If you've looked at some of the dogs on our site, you've seen that some "retired" to new homes after their show or breeding careers end. It's how Pam got her first Wheaten and we've found it is a good option for some of our dogs, too.

Sometimes, someone else can explain it better so thanks to the blog "My Life With Dogs" for their post....

I saw this meme on FaceBook recently and really got a kick out of it...because it's so true about terriers. I wanted to share it with visitors to our site because...well, it's also true about Wheaten Terriers. Sometimes, I think people read that Wheatens aren't typical terriers or are good family dogs and immediately think "Great! A non-shedding, smaller Lab or Golden!" Well, nope...they are...Terriers!

And is little Vibe, the 6 month old puppy in our house reminding me of these lessons every day!

All of my owners have heard the rant: there is absolutely NO need to feed anything other than a complete kibble to your healthy Wheaten. That "grain free" and "organic" and "human grade" and many other claims of very expensive foods are just ways to get you to pay more because you think it's better. And that they are all current fads and some time down the road, there will be a new fad.

But here's the important thing in the article...that if you change food to address an allergy or other problem, you are likely missing the real cause of what's wrong with your dog. And that means that your dog isn't going to get better.

So...hey, if you want to spend more money, fine. But if your dog has some sort of issue...get to the bottom of it and don't think that some sort of marketing ploy is the answer.

Pinch's puppies have left for their new homes...except for Tempo and Vibe. They're growing up here and we're looking forward to what they might become.

December 2015 update...and now there's just one! Tempo left for a new home recently and Vibe (Banner Still Rock N Roll To Me) is going to continue to grow up with us. So far, she seems to think that she's winning....

We breed Wheatens for a lot of reasons. As you should have seen from our site, one very big thing we do is show our dogs. It's important...it keeps us honest about the quality we are producing. And it's something we enjoy.

Beyond that, we believe that when you get a puppy from a "show breeder", you're getting a dog that was bred the right way. They have to be sound of mind and body.

We're not a fan of retractable leashes...that's why we send our puppies home with what we use, a "British Style" slip lead. But rather that just hearing about it from us, here's a great, straightforward article from the Healthy Pets newsletter:

Long-time handler, photographer and breeder of Whippets, Phoebe Booth wrote a spectacular article for the AKC Gazette describing the thoughts and feelings of a breeder with a new litter. It's moving and lovely...and what we feel every time, too.

It’s the 2nd National Purebred Dog Day and we are happy to be strong supporters. To quote the tireless founder, it’s “a day on which we celebrate the purebred dog. Created to work alongside man as they provide inestimable companionship, purebred dog breeds have served as guide dogs, earth dogs, search and rescue, military and police dogs and guardians of home, hearth and livestock; They are herders, vermin control, water rescuers, carting and sled dogs, retrievers, protectors, hunters, and bird dogs, and always, they are the heart beat of a companion near and dear to us. We value all dogs, whatever their ancestry, but we cherish the purpose bred dog and the predictability of its respective breed.”

Founder Suzy Szremy’s hard work in her home state led Colorado to be the first to recognize #NationalPurebredDogDay….thank you Suzy! Oh, and #AKC…get on the ball and take it to the other 49 states!

Nola seems to be prone to doing something good on special days. Two years after her mother Pinch completed her GCH, Nola did the same at the New Brunswick Kennel Club show. John showed her to a BOB win under judge Lydia Hutchinson.

Nola had a nice big BOB win today at the Valley Forge Kennel Club under judge Alane Gomez. Nice way to end the year…but it got better. Mrs. Gomez gave her an Owner-Handler Group 2 and judge Judi Daniels gave her a Terrier Group 4. A very happy holiday celebration indeed!